


I need a little help.

by Miss_Mischief



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Female!Frisk, Frisk can’t control the FINAL RESET, Frisk doesn’t have as much control as Sans thought, Frisk/Sans can be romantic or platonic, no comfort, non-BETA’d, or as close as I can get to it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-14 21:43:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14145198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Mischief/pseuds/Miss_Mischief
Summary: There was something wrong with the kid.She stood just in the shadows, hidden from the sunlight that washed through the broken barrier.Sans lingered behind with her, not eager to have the timeline reset just yet. He knew as soon as he walked out into the sun, he would wake up in his bed with Papyrus griping at him to get ready for work.He risked a glance over at her. She was watching the monsters rush out into the rising sun, a sad sort of smile on her face as laughter rung out ahead of them.





	I need a little help.

There was something wrong with the kid.

_”Don’t you know how to greet a new friend?” Sans asked, smiling as he held out his hand for Frisk to take. She offered a tired smile in return, shaking her head slightly._

_“No. I only know how to greet an old one. Hello, Sans.” She’d replied, her voice tired and wary, startling the skeleton into slowly lowering his hand. She’d never broken the script before; she’d never looked so... well, Sans didn’t exactly know how to describe the expression on her face. He’d only ever seen it in pictures in old human history books; the face of someone returning to war._

_He didn’t have much pity for her, though. You can only yank on the dog’s chain so many times before the dog doesn’t regret turning and biting the hand that fed, after all. She’d reset their timeline, over and over again so many times that he’d lost count. But rarely did she ever differ; never once had she hurt anyone. She’d always gone through the entire Underground, befriending and cheering anyone she’d met. She’d always broken the barrier. And she’d always reset the moment he felt the sun on his bones._

_“Right.” He finally said after a period of silence, regarding her warily._

_“I don’t have a lot of time to get behind the lamp,” she gently reminded him, slipping past and heading towards the sentry station where Papyrus would be soon._

 

She stood just in the shadows, hidden from the sunlight that washed through the broken barrier.

 

_”Hey, Papyrus? Have you ever heard of garlic bread?” Frisk asked as she stood in the kitchen, smiling up at the taller skeleton. Sans noted the strain around her eyes and mouth; he’d known her long enough to recognize her smile. That wasn’t it._

_“GARLIC BREAD?” Papyrus questioned, giving the human a quizzical look from where he stood in front of the stove. He was waiting for the spaghetti noodles to soften. “IVE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A CREATION. WHY DO YOU ASK, HUMAN?”_

_“Well, up on the surface, they usually serve it with spaghetti. It’s like the norm up there, yanno? I could teach you how to make it, if you want. It’s pretty good.” She explained, moving to lean up against the counter, looking up at him with the same fake smile. Papyrus’ expression lit up._

_“OH! I DID NOT KNOW THERE WERE CUSTOMS FOR SPAGHETTI. YOU MUST TEACH ME HOW TO MAKE THIS ‘GARLIC BREAD’ IMMEDIATELY.” He declared, “FOR I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, MUST MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION ON THE HUMANS!”_

_“Well, I’d sure hate for them to think that you were an-,” she began, cut off by Papyrus’ groan and plea for her not to continue. He didn’t say anything about Sans not finishing the joke though, which he was more than happy to._

_“-im pasta.” Sans grinned at Papyrus as he shrieked, covering his face with his hands._

_“YOU TWO ARE AWFUL! TRULY, YOU WOULD MAKE A BETTER BOYFRIEND FOR THE HUMAN THAN I WOULD, BROTHER. YOUR FINISHING HER TERRIBLE PUNS, NOW.”_

_That was enough to startle a laugh out of Frisk; it was the first time in this timeline that Sans saw her genuinely smile. He felt a blush touch his cheeks._

 

Sans lingered behind with her, not eager to have the timeline reset just yet. He knew as soon as he walked out into the sun, he would wake up in his bed with Papyrus griping at him to get ready for work.

He risked a glance over at her. She was watching the monsters rush out into the rising sun, a sad sort of smile on her face as laughter rung out ahead of them.

 

_”Sans?”  
“Yeah, kid?” He responded over the table, looking up from the menu he was pretending to browse to find her nervously fiddling with her hands on the table._

_She was silent for a bit, conflict clear on her expression as she struggled with the words she wanted to say. After a bit, she seemed to have given up, and started lamely._

_“Knock knock.”_

_“Really, kid?” Sans asked, bemused, setting his menu down and resting his hands on top of it._

_“I’m serious, you bonehead.” A small smile, “Knock knock.”_

_“Alright, I’ll bite. Who’s there?”_

_“Eye Needle.”_

_“Eye Needle who?”_

_“I needle little help getting through the door.”_

_Sans snorted; it wasn’t the best joke he’d ever heard, but knock-knock jokes weren’t usually the kid’s style. So, it was pretty good for a newbie. He looked at her to tell her as much, but he paused when he noticed her lips twisted into a grimace of a smile._

_“Kid? Is there.. something you’re not telling me?” He asked, suddenly concerned. He leaned forward, reaching over the table to rest his hand over hers. Before they touched, she quickly drew her hands back and into her lap. Her gaze fell away from his as she gave a small, fake laugh._

_“No, I’m.. I’m okay, Sans. Just feeling a little under the weather, I guess.” She confessed, lifting her eyes with the same strained smile._

_He didn’t believe her._

“Hey, Sans?” Frisk said, turning her head to look at the skeleton.

Sans looked back at her expectantly, humming softly in reply. It almost didn’t feel right to talk, he thought. The air was heavy with joy, and yet all he felt was worry.

“You’ll take care of them, won’t you? The humans, they..,” Frisk looked ahead again, towards the barrier, “they don’t need compassion and love like the monsters do. They have trouble accepting humans with different skin colors, and sexualities. I can’t imagine it’s going to be a smooth transition for you all.” She observed, a smile peeking at the corner of her lips that caused Sans to frown deeply with worry.

“Kid? What are you saying? You’re talking, like.. like you’re not coming with us.” He watched the tension slip out of her shoulders, her arms following the movement and folding in front of her. She almost seemed at peace with his observation as she kept her gaze ahead. Slowly, she smiled, soft and sad as she turned to face him.

“You were always too smart for me, Sans. I... I can’t come with you. All those resets.. waking up in the buttercups time and time again, each time wondering if I’d done something wrong, or- if I had missed someone. If there was somehow I could save even Asriel, and Chara. Sometimes I did. But every time I stepped out into the sun, and let the scripted lines play. The world would reset, and I would be back at the buttercups.”

Sans stared at her, mouth slightly agape. She hadn’t been the one resetting? All this time, and he had- he had blamed her. Because who else could it have been? Every snide comment he’d made to her about it, every glare or threat or suspicious glance, all.. unfounded. He’d been awful to her; this entire time, she had been just as jerked around as he was. He couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for her. Not only had she been reset, but she remembered every death and had to face it again, and again, and again. She must have read the guilt on his face because she stepped forward to rest her hand on his shoulder.

“Sans, it’s okay. You were upset. The first few times, I blamed myself, too. You didn’t know. I never told you, because.. well,” she sighed, “I didn’t believe it myself. But I can’t progress. My journey.. it ends here. In the Underground. I met a man who says he can help me; who knows how to get the world to forget you without hurting the timeline you’re in. Pretty soon, you’ll all be safe. No more resets, no more-“

“Frisk.” He cut her off, lifting his hand to grab her wrist, confused. “What do you mean? I don’t- I don’t understand.”

_Hello, Sans._  
_Well, up on the surface, they usually serve it with spaghetti._  
_I needle little help getting through the door._

She’d been trying to tell him the whole time.

“I have to go, Sans.” Her voice was soft, coaxing, but his hand only tightened around her wrist as he frowned up at her.

“Are you coming, my- oh.”

Sans turned his head to look at Toriel, who’d reentered through the broken barrier to retrieve Frisk. Quickly, Sans released his hold on the young woman as a blue flush pained his cheeks.

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute, mom,” Frisk reassured with a small smile. “Go on ahead; I’m sure Asriel’s dying to explore. I know the way, I can _ketchup_ to you, later.”

Toriel chuckled at the small joke, but Sans could tell that she was uneasy to leave her daughter alone with the skeleton that had her by the wrist only moments before. “Well, if you’re sure,” she finally relented, smiling a bit as she turned and vanished once again into the sunrise.

“Kid-“ he began, turning to face her once more, but she held up her hand.

“I care about you, Sans. About all of you. I can’t.. I can’t keep doing this. Especially to you - you remember all of it. Just.. take care of them, okay? I know you hate promises, but.. just promise me that much.”

“I...,” he frowned, shoving his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. “I promise, Frisk.”

When Papyrus found him five minutes later, he was staring at the empty space beside him and wondering why he was so damn sad.


End file.
